I wonder how many millions
of small white worm
cocoons were unraveled to make
his tie. I imagine vast fields
of them, confined and shining,
hanging somewhere in an overseas
warehouse under yellow lights
lost to dust.

Thank you to Jennifer Bardi, Editor in Chief at The Humanist, for publishing it!

RR: One of challenges in writing about love and loss is avoiding becoming cliche or sentimental. As a poet, how do you ensure your approach to these topics remains fresh?

KC: One of the most beautiful poems I’ve read about love and loss is “Kiss of the Sun” by Mary Ruefle, and my favorite “romantic” film is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I love them because they approach love and loss obliquely, and pay homage to the downright messiness and ineffectiveness of people. Ruefle recognizes that it’s entirely possible that she won’t be able to quench her love’s thirst, but she still promises to chuck an orange as high as she can — one last hail-mary attempt at connection. In Spotless Mind, Clementine and Joel know full well that their respective neuroses will make their relationship rife with conflict, but (spoiler alert!) they still choose to be together. I think poems risk cliche and sentimentality most when they ignore the complexity of people and real life, and the fact that it’s often through — not in spite of — hardship and conflict that the deepest love can be nurtured.

I’ll be reading with three magnificent journals and dozens of brilliant writers at offsite readings in DC during AWP. This is my first AWP, but I hear that these readings tend to be magnificent parties with great opportunities to meet other artists you admire, in addition to hearing them share their work. Hope to see you there!

On December 16 at 7:00 pm, LangLab in South Bend, Indiana is hosting “Celebrating Emily Dickinson: An Evening of Poetry and Music.” Soprano Karen Dickerson will be singing Aaron Copland’s “Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson,” and I’ll be reading some new poems I wrote just for the event. I’m really excited to be part of this. I hope you’ll come!